Without the existence of Dead Rising 2, Off the Record would have probably be worth a better review score, but the common material with the previous game is a little too much not to think that Capcom simply played its recycling card again. Indeed the game is cheaper than the previous episodes, but it's not enough to justify the pruchase if you already did the second one.

An honest action game, Spider-Man : Edge of Time demonstrates the ability of Beenox to manage the hero rather well, even though this episode doesn't surpass the previous one. There still a lot to cover before Spidey becomes as much of a videogame must-have as Batman did. It would require better environments, as well as a more ambitious storyline and storytelling with more than simple and usual game mechanics.

Unavoidable rendez-vous for the old-school games amateurs, the Xbox Live Arcade offers now a much justified remix of Guardian Heroes, odd mix between 2D brawler and RPG blessed by a iconic music score. Most developers would have failed, but Treasure prooves, 15 years later, that they stroke the right balance between a demanding technical approach and the pure visceral fun of beat'em all gameplay.

If Jackson and Spielberg seem to have won their gamble in adapting Tintin on the silver screen, sadly, it's not the case of Ubisoft for its game. Not that it's a bad game in itself, but this Tintin and its 2D gameplay is far too repetitive, and the 3D sequences on a plane or motorcycle aren't very convincing. If you top that with a 4 hours time to finish it (at the most), and despite a coop mode, nice musics and polished dialogs, you're in for a disappointment if you're looking for something on par with the movie, or the original comic books.

As accessible and fun as ever, Just Dance 3 also boasts a fantastic playlist, with various genres of music. You can now create your own choregraphies when playing with Kinect, and on the Wii like on the 360, it's enjoyable with four players. It's meant to be fun (so it's super easy), and it works.

Blackwell Deception will appeal to point'n click lovers: the puzzles are solid without being frustrating, the characters duo and story are nice. If you didn't know about the game, don't hesitate to start from the beginning of the series. The only shortcoming: it lacks a good artistic direction and some ambition to give it a real touch.

Orcs Must Die! is nice blend of strategic Tower Defense and venting hack'n slash, as odd as it may sound. Aside from a few shortcomings, its production's spot on and Robot Entertainment even managed to stick a nice story on top of it. But the main issue overshadowing the fame is the lack of challenge in the campaign. A little patch with a harder difficulty mode would be nice. And add a coop mode while you're at it, please.

Ace Combat changes its course slightly in order to deliver a more visceral, thrilling and cinematic experience, and it's for the better. One gets the new systems quickly, but it doesn't mean there aren't subtleties in it. In terms of visual, it's superb, and online play provides great fun in various ways.

Rocksteady delivers a new masterpiece, enhancing the original in almost every way. Batman Arkham City offers a better story, masterfully paced storytelling, more freedom, more surprises, secondary missions and tasks, an intensified combat with new moves... To sum it up, a follow-up that met our expectations, without forgetting the strengths of the original, and growing up to be a spot-on tale of adventure and excitement: a serious candidate for the GOTY title.

Rocksteady delivers a new masterpiece, enhancing the original in almost every way. Batman Arkham City offers a better story, masterfully paced storytelling, more freedom, more surprises, secondary missions and tasks, an intensified combat with new moves... To sum it up, a follow-up that met our expectations, without forgetting the strengths of the original, and growing up to be a spot-on tale of adventure and excitement: a serious candidate for the GOTY title.

This first DLC for Human Revolution leaves us with a mixed feeling. On one hand, it's a very nice invitation to further dive into the formidable world of the game (both in stealth or rampage mode). On the other, we can't really say it brings anything new to the table, and the environment is quite tight, with some areas needed to be crossed back and forth. It also suffers from the same technical issues than the original, but it still is worth experiencing, and offers 6-7 hours of play with a nice boss ending (finally one you can approach in several different ways), and a storyline that will teach you who the real Belltower is.

Might & Magic Heroes VI seems to be handling its innovations quite nicely. They add fluidity and dynamism to an already very appealing game, the scenario of which perfectly handles the license's richness. Too bad our review version didn't allow us to judge the balancing in multiplayer enough, nor its final polishing (it was quite bugged at the time of this review).

NB 2K12 is as generous as it is demanding, and it's unquestionably a game for passionate Basketball lovers, made by passionate basketball lovers. But with its astounding animations, the high fidelity of the greatest players reproduced in game (the older stars like the ones of today), its rich content, deep gameplay, atmosphere and fantastic sound work, 2K's sport game wows anyone. It's as clear as a lightning-fast pass from Magic Johnson, a Michael Jordan cross-over or 3-point shot from Larry Bird: NBA 2K12 is the best basket simulation ever published.

NB 2K12 is as generous as it is demanding, and it's unquestionably a game for passionate Basketball lovers, made by passionate basketball lovers. But with its astounding animations, the high fidelity of the greatest players reproduced in game (the older stars like the ones of today), its rich content, deep gameplay, atmosphere and fantastic sound work, 2K's sport game wows anyone. It's as clear as a lightning-fast pass from Magic Johnson, a Michael Jordan cross-over or 3-point shot from Larry Bird: NBA 2K12 is the best basket simulation ever published.

With its sexy heroins and its more adventure-oriented formula, Atelier Totori is more appealing than its predecessor. Even though it stays relatively similar in terms of visuals and at its core, Atelier Totori offers some gameplay adjustments and story enhancements, for the better. A classic-style RPG, but a nice one.

Aliens: Infestation is a nice little game that can really appeal to the lovers of the alien saga, thanks to its nice production, neat atmosphere and Metroid-like gameplay. It still rather short and repetitive, with a little lack of ambition.

If you feel more like a geneticist than an adventurer yourself, Dragon Quest Monster Joker 2 might keep you interested enough thanks to its enticing monster synthesis gameplay and its bestiary of hundreds of Dragon Quest monsters. But aside this core aspect, the journey lacks the extra spice, the combats sometimes feel out of place and artificially added in order to boost the game's longevity. Depending on your own tastes, you may see the full or the empty half of that glass.

Forza 4 is back in good shape with more content than ever before and many new features, including Kinect integration for the fun, the Autovista mode for car lovers, the Rival mode for competition, and much more... but we will first remember its technical performance (the game looks great and runs continuously at 60 fps) and its superb gameplay, which provides renewed physics for exceptional driving sensations. We can forgive its few flaws and raise our thumbs up: it is impossible to miss it if you're a fan of racing games.

With A Game of Thrones Genesis, Cyanide tackles too large a task for its own means, so disappointment ensues. Despite that, it's still the perfect licence to introduce fresh and new boardgames mechanics, and that helps to make it a nice multiplayer experience. But it still suffers from poor production values, ugly graphics, a lack of ambition, and unclear or insufficient visual cues as to what exactly is happening.

As a whole, id Software's game is more than solid, but it still lacks a decent third act, with a scenario that would have focused a little more on the mystery of the apocalypse for example - but more importantly, its underwhelming (to say the least) ending sequence is a stain on an otherwise brilliant world, atmosphere and game design. Controller in hand, it still is a great game to play, with a brilliant gameplay mashup and various neat ideas. This time though, id Software delivered "only" a great game, not a masterpiece.

A gem of sublime darkness. In the same way that an infamous ring did poison the soul of the one wearing it, this game becomes both the burden and the treasure of the one playing it. Cruel, even more so than its predecessor from which it keeps almost everything, Dark Souls offers a singular atmosphere, one where the player is prey, gambles its life with each step he dares to take, and its sanity every time he makes progress towards more evil that can kill him in a single strike. If you feel crazy enough to dive in, though, Dark Souls will possess you like very few can: it's a drug, and it's in the poison it exudes that lies its virtue.

A gem of sublime darkness. In the same way that an infamous ring did poison the soul of the one wearing it, this game becomes both the burden and the treasure of the one playing it. Cruel, even more so than its predecessor from which it keeps almost everything, Dark Souls offers a singular atmosphere, one where the player is prey, gambles its life with each step he dares to take, and its sanity every time he makes progress towards more evil that can kill him in a single strike. If you feel crazy enough to dive in, though, Dark Souls will possess you like very few can: it's a drug, and it's in the poison it exudes that lies its virtue.

Rotastic is a little XBLA game full surprisingly full of qualities. It didn't have a lot of buzz when it came out, but it deserves all your attention. Structured like an iPhone game and blessed with a fun atmosphere, the game offers around 70 very short stages to rack up points by getting gems and crushing bricks using a grapple. It's a very simple game, using only two buttons, for chasing the best possible score in order to unlock the following levels. There's even a multiplayer mode, and despite some shortcomings, it's a nice surprise.

This compilation combines two historic titles from Namco on the 3DS, and offers six games in total. Two of them date back to 80 and 81, and are displayed on such tiny screen that they become unplayable, two others are available in far superior versions (Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions in DX versions on the XBLA and PSN), and the final two use the features of the 3DS (gyro for Pac-Man Tilt, a poor platformer, and Augmented Reality for Galaga 3D Impact, a shameful shooter), but both are incredibly lame.

The Binding of Isaac is a loony action/adventure game with a Kawai Gore atmosphere, random challenges and a varied gameplay. Thanks to the talent of the developers, the formula works perfectly well and draws you back in easily to slaughter some more, or see the poor Isaac being bludgeoned violently.

FIFA 12 has not only improved upon FIFA 11, this episode is perhaps the one that takes the most risks, and the result is excellent. This redesigned gameplay, the revamped defense and the huge learning curve it offers makes for an impressive FIFA 12 that soccer fans will love.

FIFA 12 has not only improved upon FIFA 11, this episode is perhaps the one that takes the most risks, and the result is excellent. This redesigned gameplay, the revamped defense and the huge learning curve it offers makes for an impressive FIFA 12 that soccer fans will love.

F1 2011 is not a necessary purchase for the more casual racing game fan. Only the purists will opt to upgrade, in order to play it online, access the latest gameplay enhancement, and dive into the F1 racing world with updated cars and racers. A large update, indeed, rather than a completely new title. But the enhanced AI, better online play, and refined simulation still make for a very welcome addition ; let's hope next year's edition will also feature visual improvements.